Tony Barthel

The 2025 Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show, the annual gathering of an untold number of RVers in the Arizona desert, is a wrap and the event was an interesting mixture of perceptions. That comes in the form of guessing the number of attendees to gauging perspectives on the show.

If the measure of success is the number of RVs that were sold, then it was a success. Once again Curt Curtis was on hand from RV Country which is the sole retailer of RVs at the event and Curtis reported strong sales. The desert event is always a place where shoppers come to buy and that was the case again this year.

“We’re strong again this year,” said Curtis, “in fact we’re going to extend our stay here by another week.”

RV Country is the sole RV retailer on the property at the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show.

Other interesting perspectives came from some first-time attendees who were also at the Tampa RV show just the week before.

“This is a different vibe,” said Matt Foxcroft, owner of Liquified RV Tank Treatment.

Indeed it is with there being as much home goods represented at the show as RV-specific product. There is also the sole RV dealer compared to the ocean of RV manufacturers and dealers in Tampa.

Another happy participant was Pearl Scarborough from H&H Brands, who said she always has a good experience, but is present and positive. “Plus it doesn’t hurt that I have chili for the other vendors every afternoon.” Her company sells mixes for making chili and Bloody Mary drinks.

Paul Patterson is another who was happy with the show. Patterson’s family has been a vendor at the show since before it was even on its current property and came with his mother, who was a vendor some 44 years ago. He has been part of the show since then and now has multiple booths in the big tent.

“Some of the booths did well,” said Patterson, but his food operation was down a bit.

Indeed, even though the number of people at the show appeared to be down, some vendors were ahead.

“It’s been a bit chilly this year,” said Dennis Lynaugh from RV Superbag. “That means people are coming inside and thinking about bedding. That helps.”

This year’s seminars seemed to be more popular than last with many presenters standing in front of overflow audiences in the seminar tent. What was popular? Once again, solar and off-grid solutions as well as coordinated adventures.

It’s easy to explain the appeal of solar and off-grid power solutions, so many of the people camping in the open land that is a big appeal of this area are relying on the power that their RV can generate, often through solar.

And speaking of lithium systems, Lion Energy was back with pallets of batteries which proved to be popular and disappeared in quick order. Selling its 700 amp-hour lithium batteries for $220 helped, and John Mann said their booth was a popular stop for attendees.

It wasn’t all selling – there was some informational booths and one of those was True Topper.

“I would say last year only a few people were aware of us,” said Jeff Chase. “This year half the people know who we are so that makes it a success.”

“We’re not just up, we’re up 50%” enthused Bob Weithofer of the Family RVing Association (formerly FMCA). That organization and Escapees both had booths and gave seminars at the show.

Show organizer Kimmy King also shared that Redlands RV, which sets up several service bays and offers service and upgrades at the show, also reported a record year.

But not all participants were equally enthusiastic. There is no doubt that the number of people in the area in general was down from last year’s boom.

“There’s no doubt that foot traffic is down,” said King. Some of the challenges this year included the exchange rate with Canada with Canadian attendees being at a disadvantage.

Quartzsite’s typically comfortable temperatures and acres of free and very inexpensive camping including Bureau of Land Management lands are a big appeal to people, many of whom spend their winters here escaping much colder climates. Many of those people have traveled from Canada but the number of people from there seemed off significantly. Further, it was speculated that many of the people who might come from the Los Angeles area also weren’t here due to the fires.

So what makes the difference between being successful or not?

“Show up at 100%,” said Foxcroft. “People come from all over to be here and they deserve to be treated well.”

Indeed he was one of the vendors who reported having a strong experience at the show.

Sort of like the old saying, attitude plus aptitude equals altitude.

The post Numbers Off, But Vendors Pleased with Quartzsite Show first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

QUARTZSITE, Ariz. – The Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show is a unique experience held every January under an enormous tent in the tiny desert town of Quartzsite, Ariz. While the town’s normal population is only a few thousand people, that number swells to what some estimate as over a half million as RVers descend on the area for the typically warmer temperatures, free camping on Bureau of Land Management land and plentiful RV services.

The show goes nine days – from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (3 p.m. closing day), Jan. 18-26, at 700 S. Central Blvd., Quartzsite, Ariz. Among the appeals are the latest gadgets, but some come to get service work and upgrades done on their RVs as well as to learn more about the RV lifestyle at the workshops and seminars. Attendance at the event is free for spectators, as is parking. Located just off Interstate 10, 125 miles west of Phoenix and just 20 miles from the California border, this sleepy little town plays host to an RV extravaganza that started in 1982.

This is absolutely a show where things are sold to willing customers ranging from sponges to batteries to RV-related services – even RVs themselves.

So, how’s the 2025 show been so far? Well, that depends on who you ask.

“I hope everyone’s successful,” said Kimmy King, organizer of the show.

She described the vendors as a mix of return vendors and new with some of the new vendors arriving from China, Australia and Canada.

King added that the massive tent that houses the show itself grew another 40 feet in length from last year – it’s up to 650 feet long now – and that was 20 feet longer than the year before. With more vendors there are a lot of return sellers, but also a good number of new vendors as well.

Some of the return vendors have been thrilled with the results thus far, while others have not. But, while there’s never been an official attendance count, it does seem that foot traffic is down from previous years.

That could be due to fewer RVers in the desert. The number of white roofs reflecting the Arizona sunshine was definitely smaller than this reporter has seen in a while, which could be due to a number of reasons. Individual budgets and fuel costs are certainly factors, but there’s no denying that there seems to be fewer Canadians this year.

As mentioned, several exhibitors, such as Sadie Maughan from RVLock, described sales as being up. “But we also brought some new product to the show,” she said. Still, by the fourth day of the show the company was already running out of the product on hand.

One of the new vendors this year is Matt Foxcroft from Liquified RV tank treatment, who described the show as “phenomenal. This is absolutely great.”

It was also a challenge to speak with Foxcroft as there was a non-stop string of customers who wanted to speak with him. Foxcroft is a well-known personality on YouTube with his Matt’s RV Reviews channel with well over 100,000 subscribers.

To be fair, both Liquified and RV Lock had fairly attractive booths with eye-catching backdrops and plenty of product.

Some of the vendors were less inclined to be quoted directly, but it’s worth noting their booths might be considered less attractive.

The educational seminars were back again for 2025 with many of those being very well attended. While some of the seminars started right as the event opened for the day, that apparently didn’t dissuade people from almost running in from the entrance so they didn’t miss any of the discussion.

Once again, the popular topics were anything to do with solar and lithium systems. But, there was more diversity, too, as topics such as RV buying, the future of RVing and RV travel apps were also very well attended. The latter three and several others were given by this RVBusiness reporter, who is also the main organizer of the seminar tent.

The post Mostly Positive Quartzsite RV Show Wrapping Up for 2025 first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

What is this thing “Quartzsite?” For any RVer who has looked at a map, it’s a small town in Arizona. Very small. According to the Quartzsite Chamber of Commerce, Quartzsite is a small town in the Arizona desert off I-10 that is surrounded by BLM land, only about 17 miles from the southern California border and 100 miles from Mexico. 

While normally a quiet desert community during the summer, it starts filling up in October with winter RV snowbirds seeking to avoid snow shovels and heating bills. The local population swells from as little as 3,000 to over 2 million.

The weather is a huge draw as well with daytime temps often in the 70s. There are thousands of acres of open, flat land, 11,000 acres of which are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) but there are also 70 RV parks in the area. 

The Big Draw

With an audience of well over two million RVers, two major phenomena happen: Tyson Wells and the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show. 

Tyson Wells is a 25-acre outdoor show with 2.2 miles of aisle frontage with vendors putting up tents filled with anything from wood carvings to tools you didn’t know you’d need to water filters, RV parts and more. It’s a flea market of super size that knows the audience is out there in an RV. 

There is also a vendor who sets up a very large tent that is as large as some grocery stores and stocked almost as well. Many of the provisions are canned and shelf-stable, but there is a selection of fresh items as well. 

But the main stage is the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show which is a nine-day extravaganza of RV and home goods under what quite literally is a giant circus tent with an atmosphere to match. 

The show goes nine days – Jan. 18-26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (3 p.m. closing day) at 700 S. Central Blvd., Quartzsite, Ariz. Among its appeal are the latest gadgets for those looking for upgrades to their RVs as well as simply learning more about the RV lifestyle with workshops and seminars. Attendance at the event is free for spectators, as is parking. Located just off Interstate 10, 125 miles west of Phoenix and just 20 miles from the California border, this sleepy little town plays host to an RV extravaganza that started in 1982.

The tent that houses the event has grown again this year to 650 feet in length with show promoter Kimmy King describing it as being 40 feet longer than last year. 

“We had a big jump – exhibitor participation is up this year,” she told RVBusiness.

While some have said that this isn’t really an RV show, per se, that’s only part of the story. “There’s a little bit of everything because the show is a little bit of everyone,” King said.

The event is a destination, a huge rock and mineral show and an exceptional people-watching venue. Attendees will be able to walk through hundreds of new and pre-owned RV models and there will be over a dozen, fully-staffed RV service bays offering repairs and service plus immediate installation of many of the items exhibited and sold at the show. 

It’s also a selling show – last year Lectric eBike company sold containers of bicycles with a test track set-up for demonstration rides. 

The big tent is surround by additional exhibitors including food, Internet connectivity and a smaller seminar tent. The seminars have proven to be quite popular with this reporter’s company being in charge of the tent and presenters like Mike Sokol and Todd Hensen. There will also be a meet and greet of some of the more notable RV Content Creators who attend the show at 4 p.m., Friday, Jan. 24. 

History of the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show

The big tent event was the brainchild of Kenny King who was selling RV awnings at the time. Quartzsite was already a gathering for RVers and, on the drive back to his home in Southern California ,Kenny told his wife, “I can put on an RV show there.” 

From that inspiration the show grew with Kenny partnering with Mal Mallory. 

“Mal really set up the grounds to have the show. Kenny was the front of house, Mal was the kitchen,” said Kimmy King, Kenny’s daughter. 

Founder Kenny King remarked that the property that the show was on came with a surprise – a good source of water. In 2015 the King family bought out Mallory.

Kimmy got her degree in Criminal Justice but  started helping around the office. At the same time she took on more responsibilities at the business until, in 2018, she was running the show while Kenny could be the face of the operation, which he enjoyed. In 2021, Kenny passed away, leaving Kimmy with full responsibility for the operation. Her first solo year included a rain storm and huge winds, both of which are very unusual for the show. Oh, and this was the same year Covid was part of the landscape.

More highlights of the show

Those who don’t already have an RV, or might be interested in an upgrade, should know that RV Country, a dealership with 14 locations in the Western U.S., is back again with over 250 RVs on display. From small trailers to huge towables and motorized rigs according to Curt Curtis. Part of the appeal of the show is the choice of RVs, with pricing Curtis describes as show pricing. 

“We’re probably more aggressive than normal here just to accommodate interest rates,” noted Curtis in describing the price structure. “The snowbirds are arriving daily.” 

On opening days there will also be live music this year with popular full-time RV duo The Border Hookups performing on Saturday and the Heber Ridge Duo on Sunday.

Camping in Quartzsite

With all that open land there are a huge number of groups who gather in Quartzsite with interests of all sorts. Bands of people with the same brand of RV, people with similar interests, old friends and a variety of RV associations all stake out their corners of the open land and gather to rekindle friendships. Yes, there is even a portion of the desert carved out for those who prefer to limit their attire to what they were born with. 

One of the big collections of campers are followers of Bob Wells and participate in the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. Wells gained fame on YouTube for his videos advocating Cheap RV Living, his channel’s name. He was also featured in the movie Nomadland which reflected a lot of the Wells’ followers.

In fact the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous is a gathering of nomads who trade tips on living a low-cost lifestyle in everything from cars to RVs. Now organized by the Homes On Wheels  Alliance, which seeks to provide resources for these followers, their gathering is a very popular event unto itself. There is a specific gathering for women followers only from Jan. 8-10 and then for the entirety of the organization from January 11-16.

A good number of these followers attend the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show to find work throughout the year and the number of opportunities in the tent rewards many with plentiful employment opportunities. 

Quartzsite is a truly unusual place for so many reasons, but many of the people who go to escape winter’s chill find a camaraderie and lifestyle that draws them back year after year.  

The post Organizers Report ‘Big Jump’ for 2025 Quartzsite RV Show first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.

RVBusiness got a chance to spend the day with component supplier Lippert at the Elkhart Municipal Airport where a specially-prepared surface laid the groundwork to demonstrate new trailer braking and suspension technologies.

Click here to watch a video report of this event from WBND, the ABC television affiliate based in South Bend, Ind.

Anti-Lock Braking

To set the scene and truly demonstrate the system, Lippert secured a runway at Elkhart Airport. On that runway, officials rolled out a long stretch of vinyl flooring and then brought a water truck with soapy water to simulate winter road conditions. Cones were set-up on the track to measure established stopping and measuring points and another row of cones was set-up to provide an obstacle in the roadway. 

Three pickup trucks towing three different fifth-wheel trailers were provided for the day with each of those fifth-wheels having the new Lippert ABS. Then we were loaded into the cab of the trucks and taken down the runway. 

The first pass was simply a dry runway demonstrating how quickly the truck could stop with the trailer in tow. This is no mean feat as these trailers were about 12,000 pounds each. It was remarkable how quickly the truck and trailer were able to come to a halt from about 45 miles per hour. 

While the driver stood on the brake pedal (figuratively), the truck and trailer maintained a sure, straight path on the dry surface. 

Our next pass we were back up to 45 miles per hour, but this time we were headed for the soapy vinyl flooring. Again, the driver fully applied the brakes and, while the stopping distance was much longer owing to the slipperiness of the surface, the truck and trailer stayed true to the direction dialed-in by the steering wheel. 

Typically a trailer without anti-lock braking would likely brake differently than the tow vehicle, and would likely come around and potentially cause the driver to lose control of the whole rig. With this much weight this could prove disastrous and dangerous. 

Our final pass was back up at 45 miles per hour, but this time our course had an obstacle in it. The driver applied maximum braking but also steered the rig to avoid the obstacle. Again, we were on the slippery vinyl that simulated winter road conditions. 

Despite the challenging conditions, the trailer followed the truck through the course without any drama. The driver was able to maintain control the entire time without having to do anything radical. 

Anti-lock braking technology essentially “pulses” the brakes so that the tires don’t lose traction which allows the driver to maintain control of the vehicle. If a tire starts to skid you now do not have control of the vehicle which can be disastrous, of course. Add a slippery surface and it becomes even worse. 

Final thoughts on ABS

Honestly, being in this very heavy rig and watching how the entire thing performed over both good and poor road conditions was absolutely eye-opening. Anti-lock braking has been required to be a part of most passenger vehicles since 2011, but is only now becoming available in towable RVs. 

Lippert’s anti-lock braking system is currently available to OEMs with Forest River, Keystone and Grand Design being the first to the plate with the technology. It will eventually be available in the aftermarket as well. 

Fifth-wheels with the technology will be obvious on a dealer’s lot with the brake drums being painted a red color. 

In addition to anti-lock braking, the technology also enables an owner to track mileage of the trailer. There is also some sway mitigation technology built into the system. 

This kind of technology changes the game from a safety standpoint and can truly make a difference in the outcome of a challenging panic stop. It is now required on all vehicles because of the improvements in braking safety. 

Adding the anti-lock braking to a trailer doesn’t require a tremendous change to the trailer, other than adding some wiring and the control module. There is no change required to any tow vehicle nor to the seven-pin connection between the tow vehicle and trailer. 

Suspension animation

We also got to ride in three fifth-wheel trailers on a patchy stretch of runway to explore the differences in suspension technology. 

One fifth-wheel had traditional leaf springs with a Road Armor suspension upgrade, a second unit featured Lippert’s new slipper roller leaf spring system, and the third was a coil spring suspension with shock absorbers under Lippert’s CURT brand. 

Riding in a trailer even with a dampened leaf spring suspension it was remarkable how much of the road’s surface breaks are transmitted up and into the body of the trailer. In our first pass, with the traditional leaf spring suspension, we particularly kept an eye on the TV and ceiling fan in the trailer. But the shaking and rattling of cabinets and everything else really explains why so many of these components fail over time. 

As you roll over expansion joints and breaks in the pavement, the interior of the trailer responds with loud bangs and crashes that really speak to an early demise of the rig. 

This reporter didn’t get a chance to ride in the trailer with the slipper spring, which is a technology that has been used in heavy commercial trailers but is now available to fifth-wheels. This promises a more controlled ride over a wider variety of trailer load conditions. 

Finally, I did ride in the trailer with Lippert’s “Touring Coil Suspension System.” This is a coil spring system that also incorporates shock absorbers, much as you’d find in many modern vehicles. 

Over the same surface at several speeds the difference was incredible. Rather than rattle banging down the course, the trailer equipped with the Touring Coil Suspension simply absorbed the bumps with just a bit of the road’s irregularities transmitted to the interior. 

Since the three trailers were different models from three different Forest River brands, making a determination about the sway around corners wasn’t easy to ascertain, but the softer suspension did seem to have a bit more sway. This only makes sense, though. 

The day at the track reinforced how much a compliant suspension and better braking safety can make a significant difference both in the life of the RV and, potentially, the life of the occupants. 

Peggy and Tony Barthel are veterans of the RV industry and use that experience to create StressLess Camping, a podcast, website and resource for new and experienced RVers and campers alike to learn more, spend less and turn every adventure into a StressLess Camping experience.

The post Lippert’s Test Track Shows Off ABS, Suspension Upgrades first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.